Jacob van Garderen,

is a South African human rights lawyer with more than twenty years’ experience in social justice activism and strategic litigation, specialising mainly in refugee and migration law. He served as National Director of Lawyers for Human Rights, a leading human rights organisation in South Africa focusing on strategic litigation, refugees and migrant rights, land reform, farmworkers, housing, penal reform, gender equality and environmental rights, since 2008. He is a member of the Johannesburg Bar and has written and lectured on human rights law and practice and serves on the boards of various South African and regional human organisations working in the fields of social justice, rule of law and migration. He has presented various policy submissions to parliament, provincial legislatures and government departments on a wide range of human rights issues and made presentations to the UN and African treaty bodies on regional and human rights issues. He has had regular contact with international human rights organisations such as the International Commission of Jurists, International Federation for Human Rights, Amnesty International and the International Detention Coalition, working with them to create litigation and advocacy strategies. He has strong organisational experience, training, advocacy and leadership skills.